After a successful fall season for Kutztown University athletics, KU is ranked third in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s Dixon Trophy standings.

The Dixon Trophy is awarded at the end of each academic year to the league’s most successful program based on conference playoff and/or regular-season finish. Standings are compiled based on average score for all Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship sports each school sponsors. Equal to its total membership, each conference sport champion is awarded 18 points and a descending point value is given for respective place finishes. The second- through last-place values vary depending on the number of teams that sponsor the sport.

The KU men averaged 14.25 points across its two fall sports, which ranked second overall. The Golden Bears football team earned a department-high 14.5 points as it won its most games (nine) since 2011, the last time it also appeared in the NCAA Tournament as it did this season. Not far behind, men’s cross country earned an average of 14 points, highlighted by its fourth-place finish at PSAC’s, the best finish for the program since the 2002 season.

Women’s soccer led the way on the other side with 14 points, followed by women’s cross country with 13, field hockey and golf each with 11 and women’s volleyball with 2.5.

The football, field hockey and women’s soccer teams all reached the postseason in a banner-fall for the Maroon and Gold.

KU finished ninth at the end of the 2017-18 season.

In its 24th year of existence, the award is named in honor of F. Eugene Dixon, Jr., former chairman of Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors. Seven different institutions have won the Dixon Trophy. SU has laid claim to the honor a league-best eight times, while WCU boasts four. Lock Haven and Bloomsburg have three titles apiece. California has two Dixon Trophy victories. KU, Slippery Rock, and Millersville have each won one Dixon Trophy.

Seven PSAC Championships will be contested in the 2018-19 winter season: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s indoor track & field and wrestling. The next update of the Dixon Trophy standings will be released following the basketball championships in early March.